Warning over impact of cuts on dementia

IMPLEMENTING a new strategy on dementia could be threatened by widespread NHS cuts, a city nurses' organisation has warned.

The Edinburgh-based Royal College of Nursing said plans to boost support for the illness could not happen while nursing numbers were being slashed.

The Scottish Government announced its plans last week to tackle the growing strain diseases such as Alzheimer's were placing on health services, particularly in Edinburgh.

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Theresa Fyffe, RCN Scotland director, warned: "If the NHS and other agencies are going to deliver person-centred care for people with dementia, the appropriately skilled nurses and other healthcare staff needed to deliver this must be in place.

"Health boards are beginning to make significant cuts to their existing nursing workforces so the government needs to make clear how it is going to make the dementia strategy a reality."